Ask Kevin: Straw bales in Alaska
27 Feb '07 from Kevin Contreras
Hello Kevin,
I am planning on builiding a house in a remote area of Alaska. I’ve done some research I’ve looked at ceramic and geodesic dome homes and building green looks very exciting and inexpensive! Would you recommend a rice straw house in an area that reaches minus 40 degrees in the winter?
Also what was the total cost of the your house in Santa Barbara?
Thank you for your time and response.
Dena
Dena,
Our house cost approximately $250 per square foot to build here in California. Your costs may be lower or higher, depending on your local building codes, the price of local labor, and the cost of transporting materials to your site. As for cold weather construction materials, rice straw is highly insulating, and should be wonderful for your climate. If I was designing a house for 40 below I might even think of doubling the bale walls, if space is not an issue. An R100 would sure be nice. For local know-how, visit the Alaska Craftsman Home Project, which has lots of resources for energy-conscious builders in that state. thelaststraw.org has links to help you locate bales locally. Last but not least, check out this article from the Yukon News about a straw bale home in your state.
Kevin
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Alaska
Kevin, I too live in the interior of Alaska. Unfortunately most folks consider log cabins as the “green alternative” Straw bale construction by local “green” builders are not an option. So my project is gonna be a do it yourselfer. Curious if there was anyway to connect people in this region who would be interested in shipping up straw bales (more economical) as a group? thanks geo
Canadian straw
George,
I think you have to start talking to grain growers in Canada about the types of straw they have. Surely there are farmers that can provide you with good bales, though I don’t know how far they’ll have to travel. Start reading http://www.thelaststraw.org/history/eisenberg.html to learn about what is going on in the world on bale building and I’m sure you’ll find some contacts.
Let me know what you come up with, and Happy Building,
Kevin
I'd like to thank you for
I'd like to thank you for the useful links (and thanks to Dana for asking the question.)
That being said... Alaska is not part of Canada. And while climatically there are some similarities Alaska is also not the Yukon.
Point Alaskans to Canadian farmers and Canadian builders is not that helpful.